Only 37% of Japanese people favor diplomatic support for peace on the Korean Peninsula: Poll

Published: 30 Dec. 2025, 19:54

President Lee Jae Myung, right, speaks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ahead of their meeting held on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Johannesburg on Nov. 23. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

 
Only 36.7 percent of Japanese people said they support efforts to provide diplomatic support to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula, hovering well below the global average, a survey showed on Tuesday.
 
The percentage of Japanese respondents who backed the idea of offering economic and military support also stood at 25.8 percent and 12.7 percent, respectively, according to a report released by the Korea Institute for National Unification.
 
 
The online survey was conducted from Aug. 11 to 18 on 1,000 respondents in seven countries — Japan, Germany, Mongolia, Sweden, Italy, Canada and Poland — and 2,000 respondents in the United States.
 
Among the eight nations, Japan recorded the lowest figure in terms of all diplomatic, economic and military support, the poll showed.
 
Excluding Japan, 63.8 to 76.6 percent of respondents from the seven countries supported diplomatic solutions, while 40.8 to 63.8 percent favored economic support. Regarding military support, the corresponding percentage reached 24.2 to 60.3 percent.
 
In the United States, 52.1 percent of respondents said they supported military support, though U.S. President Donald Trump has strengthened his “America First” policy in his second term.
 
On the issue of Korean unification, approval exceeded 40 percent in all surveyed countries except Japan, where support stood at just 29.3 percent.

Yonhap